STURGEON BAY (NBC 26) — The City of Sturgeon Bay is considering new pedestrian safety measures after a fatal crash.
According to NBC 26's previous reporting, a 73-year-old driver was turning left when she focused on a group of pedestrians at one crosswalk, and did not see a 75-year-old woman crossing another crosswalk.
Emergency crews found the 75-year-old unresponsive in the south portion of the 3rd Avenue and Michigan Street intersection. She was taken to a Green Bay medical facility, where she was later pronounced dead, police said.
"I was surprised that it happened in Downtown Sturgeon Bay," Sturgeon Bay neighbor Charles Zehner said.
WATCH MIHIR SINHASAN'S FULL STORY:
Sturgeon Bay mayor David Ward addressed the accident during his Mayor's Report at the Aug. 18 Common Council Meeting. He said that the city's Premier Resort Area Tax (PRAT) money coming in can be used for creating a pedestrian protection initiative, which would include adding extra signs and signals.
"I've never seen more people downtown than I have this last summer," Ward said at the meeting. "That's good for merchants and restaurants and so forth, but it's also a challenge from a safety standpoint."
Meanwhile, Dave Buczko, owner of Dave's Auto and Marine Upholstery next to the intersection, does not like the idea.
"I don't feel the need for it," Buczko said. "Why spend the money if you don't have to? If (Mayor Ward) came out here and sat down for a few times, he'd notice that there's not need for it."
Zehner also questions the need for the initiative, even as the mayor says he has received pedestrian safety complaints near 5th Ave. and Michigan St., along with 3rd Ave. and Oregon St.
For now, Zehner says he'll believe it when he sees it.
"You do see some signs maybe in the country like 'pedestrian crossing,'" he said. "That might help. I suppose if they implement it, we'll find out."
Ward said that the pedestrian protection initiative could be included in the city's 2027 budget.
